After sleeping in from the previous evening's event with Hoosier Beer Geek, hubby and I made our way to celebrate Indiana's food, wine, beer and local produce at the first ever Dig Indiana event. I had been tweeting about this event for quite sometime and was very excited to see all the offerings that were available.
I concentrated mostly on the restaurants and all the great food they produced from local ingredients, as well as the beer and wine samplings that were available. There were so many items to try, but here is a list of my favorites from the day:
Chef Steven Unrue's (Tastings: A Wine Experience) Indiana corn & kale tamales with duck. I've already raved about how great Chef Unrue's tamale is, as we had a sneak preview at one of the Wednesday wine dinners. But this was a bit different, as he added duck to the tamale. And yes, it was just as delicious as before. I heard the most positive remarks on this dish, and I have to agree, it was my favorite! *Located at 50 W. Washington, in the Conrad*
Chef Aaron Butt's (Joseph Decuis) Wagyu burger with goat cheese mousse and hot pepper ketchup. The wagyu, similar to what we know of kobe beef, was marbled so well with the fat that it just melted in your mouth. The goat cheese was fantastic (goat cheese seemed to be a silent theme of the overall event) as was the spicy ketchup, the meat was so tender and perfectly cooked All I can say is nom. *Located at 191 N. Main Street, Roanoke, IN**
JJ Boston (Chef JJ's Back Yard) utilized that EGG grill like no other, and grilled some lamb sausage to perfection. With a dollop of cheese (guess what kind), these sausages were seasoned perfectly. And the smells from their station were fantastic. I can't wait to attend a class at Cheff JJ's in the near future. Grilled lamb? Yes please. **Located at 1040 Broad Ripple Avenue, Indy**From Ivy Tech, Chef Thom England served up a delightful caprese salad. Plum tomatoes topped with a goat cheese mousse (surprise!) and chopped basil - you can't go wrong with a dish like this. But you can definitely exceed perfection when you add smoked sea salt. Oh my, that was the shining star, and the reason I had to have two of this dish. Sorry for the lack of photo, just know it was good.
Sun King Brewery's Crabon - this brew was fantastic! SO fantastic that hubs and I both had to have our own pint of it. For only $1 more (versus the $4 plastic cup of deliciousness,) you could walk away with your own beautiful pint. Well worth it. And don't think you missed out on this. Sun King has their Tasting Room open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. After you realize how much you love it, you can get a growler filled for a mere $5. Now that is a deal. **Located at 135 N. College, Indy**
There were so many more options available and I admit, I had two of all the items listed above. After 5 hours of tummy bliss, hubby and I chatted about how great next year could be. We look forward to it, and applaud all the individuals who brought this to a reality (especially to MBerg!) in the planning process.
If you were at DigIN, what was your favorite?